The present invention relates to a valve prosthesis, preferably a cardiac valve prosthesis, for implantation in the body and comprising a collapsible elastic valve which is mounted on an elastic stent wherein the commissural points of the elastic collapsible valve are mounted on the cylinder surface of the elastic stent.
Valve prostheses of this type are usually implanted in one of the channels of the body to replace a natural valve. In the present description the invention will be explained in connection with a cardiac valve prosthesis for implantation in aorta. However, it will be possible to use a valve prosthesis according to the invention in connection with implantation in other channels in the body by using the same technique as the one used for implantation of cardiac valve prosthesis. Such an implantation may, e.g., comprise the implantation of:
1. a valve (for instance a cardiac valve) in the veins,
2. a valve in the esophagus and at the stomach,
3. a valve in the ureter and/or the vesica,
4. a valve in the biliary passages,
5. a valve in the lymphatic system, and
6. a valve in the intestines.
An existing natural valve in the body is traditionally replaced with a valve prosthesis by a surgical implantation. However, a surgical implantation is often an exacting operation. Thus, today the implantation of cardiac valves are solely made by surgical technique where the thoracic cavity is opened. The operation calls for the use of a heart and lung machine for external circulation of the blood as the heart is stopped and opened during the surgical intervention and the artificial cardiac valves are subsequently sewed in.
Due to its exacting character, it is impossible to offer such operation to certain people. For instance, this is due to the fact that the person is physically weak because of age or illness. Moreover, the number of heart and lung machines available at a hospital will be a substantially limiting factor.
Cardiac valve prostheses that need no surgical intervention are known as there are used for implantation by means of a technique of catheterization. Examples of such valve prostheses are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,671,979 and 4,056,854. However, both of these valve prostheses are connected to means which lead to the surface of the patient either for a subsequent activation of the valve or for a subsequent reposition or removal of the valve prosthesis. With these valve prostheses it is impossible to make an implantation which makes it possible for the patient to resume a substantially normal life in the same way as it is possible in connection with a surgical implantation of a cardiac valve.
From U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,823 an elastic stent for a cardiac valve prosthesis is known. However, this valve prostheses is not designed for implantation in the body by catheterization. Even though this patent contains no detailed explanation, the description indicates that this valve prosthesis is designed for implantation and sewing on by a surgical intervention.
Moreover, from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,856,516 and 4,733,665 different shapes of expandable stents are known. These stents are made to be expanded by impression of a radially outward force coming from a balloon catheter or the like. These stents are made to reinforce the wall when there is a risk that the channel is closed and/or compressed.
The nearest prior art may be that the described in GB-A-2,056,023. This document discloses an elastic stent as described by way of introduction. Thus, the stent described comprises an elastic collapsible valve mounted on the cylinder surface of a cylindrical stent. However, the valve prosthesis including the stent is designated for mounting through a surgical intervention. Even though the stent is slightly collapsible, it will not be suited for implantation by a catheterization procedure.